Rotten Luck
by TennisMagic
Summary: In any other situation, Shishido would have been delighted to miss school...but broken legs are seriously lame. At least he can hope for someone to come and visit him after the lamest day ever, right? T for Shishido's mouth.


In any other situation, being tucked up in bed at home all day Monday would be a wonderful thing. No cramming into cramped trains, no early morning math test, no cleaning duty and no hiding in lockers to get away from the creepy girls who have no sense of personal space.  
>Indeed, being in bed instead of going to school on any given Monday <em>should<em> be a blessing.

Shishido, however, did not feel so blessed. Yes, he was in his bed and yes, he had been there for most of the day, but something about having his leg in a cast soured his mood somewhat.

"Yah, Ryoh," the patient looked up, frowning when he saw his older brother leaning against the door frame and grinning. "Done feeling sorry for yourself yet?"  
>"Piss off, Toohru." Shishido, the incredibly mature young man that he was, pulled his blanket over his head with a huff. "It's your fault I'm here; now get the fuck out before I send you to hospital too."<p>

Toohru shrugged and poked out his tongue at his darling baby brother. "Fine, just came to tell you that your boyfriend's been hanging awkwardly around the front door for the past five minutes because he's too nervous to knock, and I'm gonna go let him in now. You look totally sexy in your underwear and a cast; by the way, he'll love it."  
>With a teasing wave, the older boy left the doorway and made his way downstairs, followed by a miserable whine of <em>fuck youuuuuuu<em> coming from his brother's bedroom.

Shishido stretched out his arms and sighed; broken legs were _lame_. Lamer than lame. Lamer than that time Atobe tried to teach the Hyoutei regulars to ballroom dance and Shishido had been partnered with Kabaji, who ended up standing on his foot.  
>And that had been pretty damn lame.<br>The _entire day_ had been lame. He'd woken up at four in the morning because his foot itched but he couldn't reach it, then his Gameboy fell off his bed and he couldn't reach that either, and then he'd been left alone for most of the day as his mother had errands to run and Toohru had a date, which made him even more smug and unbearable when he got home.  
>Indeed, those days were the worst of all, because Shishido's insults would bounce right off him. Toohru would rebuff his little brother with <em>'call me a fatass all you want, Yuuka says I'm sexy.'<em>  
>Ew.<p>

Shishido had his phone with him, but everyone he knew, bar his mother, had been at school all day. Gakuto did send him the odd message across the day, but they were hardly comforting.  
><em><strong>-'sup bitch?-<br>-Math test was cancelled :D-  
><strong>_And Shishido's personal favourite_**  
>-Sucks to be you!-<br>**_What a crappy day.

A squeal from his mother downstairs brought Shishido back into the present. It was a very particular kind of squeal; the loudest one, the squeal of approval. The very same squeal she had made when Toohru first brought Yuuka home.  
><em>"Oh my goodness, Ohtori Choutarou? <em>_**The**__ Ohtori Choutarou? Oh my gosh I haven't even dusted quick Toohru pick up those socks where are the doilies oh if only I'd known I would have been better prepared! Oh please do make yourself at home, Ohtori-kun! Ryoh's upstairs, second room from the staircase. Oh my gosh is that a stain on the tablecloth maybe it'll be okay if I put a vase over it Toohru where on earth are those doilies…"_

"Shishido-senpai…?" A soft voice, laced with concern, floated up the stairs. Crappy as the day had been, there was something about that voice that allowed Shishido to just about manage to smile as his beloved doubles partner peeped around the door. "Oh! Oh my goodness…how are you feeling?"  
>"Like shit..." Shishido said, still smiling. "Take a seat. Those wouldn't happen to be for me, would they?"<p>

'Those' referred to a small bouquet of flowers in Choutarou's hands – red and purple flowers, in fact, Shishido's little known favourite colours. As the younger boy sat in the computer chair that had been placed by the bed, he nodded shyly, handing them to Shishido. "I wasn't sure if you'd like flowers, since they're kind of girly, but…"  
>"I like them, really, thanks a lot." He took the bouquet carefully and set it down on the bedside table, making a mental note to ask his mother for a vase. "I do! Don't make that face. You didn't have to bring me anything, though, it was nice of you."<p>

Choutarou glanced around the room quietly, curiously, as his senpai fiddled with the flowers. Shishido watched him – Choutarou had never come over to his house before, and never seen his room. It was kind of a mess, but that didn't seem to bother Shishido's visitor at all, who instead smiled sweetly at the collection of posters, photographs and certificates taped to the walls.

"So um…how exactly did you break your leg, Shishido-senpai?"

And so Shishido began to recount what had happened the previous evening, pulling up his blanket a little way to simultaneously show Choutarou his cast and cover a little more of his chest (he had been mentally cursing his habit of sleeping in his boxers from the moment Choutarou walked into the room, luckily he didn't appear to have even noticed.) How it had been a completely normal evening, and Mrs Shishido had been wandering around the house with a laundry basket picking up the many, many stray pieces of clothing that were a result of having two teenage boys living in one building. How Toohru had found some underpants under his desk that he had forgotten about when Mrs Shishido had already taken her basket away, and how he decided to throw them outside his bedroom door, at the top of the staircase, to be found later.

How Shishido had found them first, much to his surprise; fallen right over them and kept on falling all the way down the stairs.

Choutarou was, Shishido found, a wonderful audience for this kind of story. He smiled and nodded and gasped and _Oh my goodness Shishido-senpai_-d in all the right places, and he seemed genuinely sympathetic. Gakuto had actually been the first person Shishido told, having texted him while on the way home from hospital, and the only response had been a less than sympathetic  
><em><strong>-ROFLMFAO fucking hilarious-<br>**_He'd never admit it, but it was really nice to have someone actually feel sorry for him.

"…so yeah, doctor said it was a totally clean break and should heal pretty fast, but that's still like six weeks at least…and that's so long as I don't put any weight on it." Shishido glared at his broken leg. "So no practice for me for a while…but Mom says I can start using crutches in a couple of days, which should be good. She's cramming me full of calcium and vitamin shit like nobody's business, so that should speed things up." He then noticed his guest was unusually quiet. "…Choutarou?"

"Sorry, Shishido-senpai…it's just…practice won't really be right without you."

"Oh…" Choutarou was right, of course. They were a _doubles pair_, and they couldn't exactly work on their doubles while Shishido's leg was in a cast. That wasn't the only thing, though – it wasn't just the tennis, it was everything else about practice. It was the trivial conversations they would have about nothing in the changing rooms, the playful banter as they warmed up, the casual leaning against one another as they waited for Gakuto and Oshitari to stop bickering and get on with the match. "Well hey, it's not like I can't come and watch, right? And you can get a head start on your singles work with Hiyoshi ready for next year. It'll be fine, cheer up!" Shishido placed a hand on Choutarou's knee and smiled at him encouragingly, giving a little pat.

"Shishido-senpai…"

"_Ryoh!"_ The familiar call of Shishido's mother rang from somewhere downstairs. _"Does Ohtori-kun want to stay for dinner? Because he's perfectly welcome to!"_  
>He looked at Choutarou and cocked his head to the side questioningly, feeling it unnecessary to repeat what his mother already said. The younger boy smiled, but shook his head.<p>

"Sorry…I came on short notice, so have to go home today. Around now, actually. Atobe-buchou said he might let me slip away from practice a little early tomorrow to come and see you, though…" Choutarou stood up and made his way to the door, bowing politely. "Thank you for having me, Shishido-senpai…and um…you have a petal on you, just here." He gestured on himself, pointing to the middle of his chest, before quietly taking his leave.

All Shishido could do was blush.


End file.
